Operation Truth
by MexiFBI95
Summary: Avatar Korra, an ex-Army MP who suffered a devastating loss is now Republic Cities finest detective. But when an odd case reopens old wounds and a new taskforce taking charge led by Captain Mako, her life may once again take a turn for the worst.
1. Prologue

**A/N: So been working on this for quite a while and still evolving ideas for this story so I hope you guys like it and if you don't well that's okay, I'll keep posting new chapters anyways for those of you who do like. Anyways, first LoK fanfic so please let me know what you guys think.**

_Prologue_

_It wasn't supposed to end like that. It was just suppose to be a routine patrol along the base. Korra and Asami had done it countless of times that it had almost become second nature to them._

"_So, I see how Tahno still hasn't managed to catch the Avatar's heart." Asami jokingly teased as they rounded the corner of the barracks._

_Korra scrunches up her face in disgust. "Ugh, that cocky waterbender?"_

_Asami laughs. "Yup, the very one. You know the guy you sent fifty feet into the air?"_

_Korra grins. "Hey, he did say he wanted to go airborne."_

"_I don't think that's exactly how he imagined it."_

"_He's just another one of those infantry morons who thinks they're better than everyone, especially against us girls." _

"_I think us girls can take care of ourselves."_

"_Amen to that!" Korra says, pumping her fist in the air, causing another fit of laughter from Asami._

_As the two walk the supply road to head back to the base, both soldiers spot two humveys heading their way, shrouded by a cloud of dust, blocking the view that is the chaos in the base._

_Korra and Asami look to each other, knowing something wasn't right since there haven't been any shipments all day, therefore, there shouldn't be anyone leaving._

_As the vehicles get closer, Asami flags them down, both Korra and her keeping their weapons raised, not wanting to take any chances._

_Once the vehicles came to a squeaky halt, Korra and Asami take up both flanks and as the dust clears, it reveals four men in uniform they do not recognize at all._

_Asami, who keeps her distance from the driver side, asks, "Identify yourselves and state your purpose."_

_The driver does not answer, but merely looks from Asami to Korra and then to his men._

_Asami, now training her weapon directly at the driver says more forcefully, "Identify yourselves and state your purpose. NOW!"_

_Once again, more silence._

_Korra, running out of patience intervenes, "Alright, get out of the damn car now, you sons of b-"_

_Korra is cut off as Asami and her notice the driver reaching for his pocket as he says, "You will soon know about us, Avatar Korra." And pulls out a detonator._

"_BOMB!" You hear Asami yell before everything erupts into an explosion of hell._

_Instinctly, Korra bends the earth and pulls up a wall to act as a barrier, but the force of the explosion is too great for the earth to handle and Korra is thrown backwards, rolling and fumbling through the sand, able to feel every blow._

_After what felt like an eternity, Korra finally comes to a halt, lying on her back and in the most intense pain she has ever felt. Shrapnel and debris rain down as Korra tries to fight off the agony because she has to get to her friend and see if she is okay._

_As Korra tries to get up, she is met with an unbearable ache in her right leg that almost knocks her unconscious. Knowing that if she looks down she would surely blackout, she tries to ignore the crippling pain and the ringing in her ears that threaten her state of mind._

_Walking like the dead, Korra notices the blackened bodies, simmering in the flames that consume the vehicles. Almost losing consciousness, Korra falls to the ground, blood, sweat, and dirt caking her entire body._

_That's when Korra hears a very slight cry. A cry for help from her battle and she swears it sounds so close. Unable to get up, Korra puts her training into action and high crawls through the debris, using every ounce of strength to get her closer to the cry for help._

_Korra comes to halt in front of a pile of debris, completely out of breath, when she spots a pair of boots sticking out from the rubble. With the last remaining strength she has left, Korra pushes herself onto her knees and lifts the debris off of Asami. What she sees next would haunt her for the rest of her life. _

_Asami, being a nonbender, didn't have the chance to form a barrier to protect herself. A giant piece of metal protruded from her abdomen as she lay on her back, looking at Korra with a weak smile, trying to mask her pain and fear._

"_A-Asami? Y-You're going to be okay… just hang in there." Korra says, trying not to break down in front of her as she goes by her side, frantically trying to stop the bleeding._

"_You… and I both… know… I'm not gonna… make it." Asami struggles to say through the blood coming from her mouth._

"_No! No… Asami… stay with me okay?" Korra says, tears coming down uncontrollably as she reaches for her radio. "Dust off… dust off… This is Delta 551 requesting a medivac, over."_

_Nothing comes through._

"_Dust off… dust off… I repeat this is Delta 551 requesting a medivac, OVER!"_

_Nothing but static can be heard. Korra attempts a third try but is stopped as Asami's trembling hand holds onto hers._

"_I'm glad… to have served… with my…best…friend…" Asami shudders as her head rolls to the side, releasing her final breath of life._

"_Asami?" Korra cries, her lower lip trembling as she says, "Open your eyes Asami!" Now sobbing, Korra shakes her best friend, "Open your eyes! Asami?"_

_The approaching sounds of incoming fire fades away as Korra's pain and grief turns into pure rage and the lives of a thousand Avatar's rushes through her as she releases herself and lets her past lives take over._


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 1**

_5 YEARS LATER_

Korra drifts through a corner running at top speed after one of the Triple Threat Triads notorious bookkeepers, Kai Singh, who managed to escape a security detail a few hours ago.

Korra and her partner Iroh were about to give up their search when the bonehead barreled through a red light and a pursuit gave way. It later became a foot chase when Iroh managed to burn Singh's tires, immobilizing his vehicle once it crashed into a pole.

As Korra throws herself over a fence, Iroh blasts himself over using his firebending, managing to land in front of Singh while Korra blocked from behind.

"Give it up Kai, it's over." Iroh says as he stands in his fighting stance, with Korra doing the same.

Korra couldn't see Kai's reaction, but she could sense him grinning as he said, "We'll see about that, pig."

Bursts of flame erupt from Kai's fist as he whirls around, sending a tornado of fire in all directions.

Both Iroh and Korra barely have time to move out of the way before Kai shoots off a powerful torrent of flames straight towards Iroh, slamming him into the brick wall behind him, knocking him unconscious.

Korra doesn't have time to see if he's okay for Kai is already sending an equal shot towards her, which she blocks with her forearms and manages a one-two combo of flames in his direction. As Kai flips over to block Korra's attack, Korra flings up a tower of rock, hitting Kai square in the chest, causing a loud thud as he lands on his back.

Not taking any chances, Korra springs off the earth and into the air as Kai kicks off the ground, sending spirals of flame along with him.

However, as he gets ready to make his next move, he's momentarily dazed as he looks up into the sky where he sees Korra in the air, the sun catching his eye. Blinded, he has no time to react as Korra comes torpedoing down right on top of him, causing a massive crater to form from the impact.

Iroh, managing to get up as he regains consciousness, calls Korra's name as everything is consumed by a cloud of dust and debris.

Once everything clears, Iroh breathes a sigh of relief as he see's Korra dragging an unconscious Kai up the crater.

"Do you think it would matter if I read him his rights?" Korra says while Iroh helps her bring up the crook, "I mean, we could just say we did and just say that he forgot."

Iroh laughs as he pulls out his radio to call for backup, "I think you should be okay. Besides, you were a little busy trying to detain a criminal _resisting arrest_."

"Yeah, and you were a little busy sleeping on the job too." Korra teased. "How's the head?"

Iroh reflexively rubs the bump on the back of his head as he says, "Psh, me? It'll take a whole lot more to keep me out of commission. What about you? Did the Avatar manage that little workout?"

Korra examines herself. Aside from a couple of scrapes and bruises, Korra managed to come out pretty clean from that fight, as usual.

"I think you mean warm up." Korra says as she sees the approaching sirens signaling the near end of a very long shift. Korra can already feel the adrenaline leaving her body and fatigue taking over.

"Good job you two." Chief Beifong says as the three of them stand watching Kai get put into the transportation vehicle.

"Good job? So is that all we get for catching our number one key to bringing down the Triple Threats?" Korra asks as she ignores Iroh glare of a warning look, telling her to shut up.

Chief Beifong glares at Korra which she returns with a smug smile.

After what felt like an eternity to Iroh, chief Beifong sighs as she says, "I suppose a day off wouldn't hurt."

"How bout two?" Korra asks, a grin pushing at the corner of her lips.

"How bout don't push it." Chief returns coolly.

"Roger that!" Korra answers as she salutes the Chief of police while Iroh just shakes his head by her side.

"What?" Korra asks as she turns around to go home.

"Do you ever think before you say anything? Chief could've fired you!" Iroh says, clearly annoyed.

"Thinking would require effort and I'm more of those go with the flow kind of girl. Besides, I doubt you can get fired over asking for a day off. Plus, I'm the best she's got; she would never get rid of me."

"You mean _we're _the best that she's got." Iroh corrects her.

"Potato, tomato." Korra says.

"Uh…"

"So you being one of the best, you can go pick up the cruiser and bring it back to the station, right?"

Before Iroh has a chance to argue, Korra shoots off into the air on her glider she got from who knows where and heads in the direction of Air Temple Island.

"I had to get paired with the most obnoxious person ever." Iroh says with a smile as he scampers off to get the car.

A short seven minutes later, Korra finds herself landing on the docks of Air Temple Island only to be mobbed by her polar bear dog, Naga.

Korra laughs as Naga licks her face off, "Okay, okay. It's nice to see you too girl."

Once Korra manages to get Naga off, it isn't too long before she is met with Tenzin's kids, Jinora, Ikki, and Milo.

"Korra!"

"What did you do today?"

"Did you catch the bad guy?"  
"Did you get shot?"

"Did you kill someone?"

"Is Iroh your boyfriend?"

Before Korra can say anything though, she is saved by Tenzin as he says, "All right children, I think Korra's had a long day. It is time to let her rest. Now, run along and play somewhere else.

All three children grumble and grown in protest as they head over to the air bison stables, no doubt to go and cause some trouble.

"Thanks for the save Tenzin." Korra says, starting to walk over to her room.

"Shouldn't you tend to your wounds Korra?" Tenzin says, not getting the idea of letting Korra rest as he said before.

"I'm fine. They'll heal soon enough."

"Do you want to talk about what happened today?"

'There's not much to talk about. Went to work, caught the bad guy. End of day."

"I see, well if you are able, Pema will have dinner ready in about an hour."

"Thanks, but I already ate."

"Mhm." Is all Tenzin says as he finally goes to leave Korra alone.

Korra sighs at her disappointed Air Bending Master but is too tired to talk to anyone at the moment. As she treks up the stairs to her room, she feels the day's events unfold on her body, sleep calling her name. However, sleep, like always, means the nonstop nightmares.

Every night, she relives the worst day of her life. As much as Korra tries to be the go lucky and hard headed person she really is, she can never let go of the pain and loss of her past, knowing she is alive and her best friend isn't. Not only does she have to live with survivor's guilt, but also with the burden of her case being the only murder case she has not solved.

As her head hits her pillow, not bothering to even change, Korra's vision becomes a cloud as everything in the room fades into nothing but darkness.

_Korra unleashes a storm of elements in every direction, stopping the enemy from getting closer to the base. Up in the air, aircrafts loom ever so close to the ground, trying to send missiles torpedoing her way but fail as the Avatar's vengeance is unleashed._

"_What is that?"_

"_It's Avatar Korra!"_

"_She wasn't killed?"_

"_No, her partner was the one that took the blast!"_

"_Those morons didn't kill her!"_

_An explosion rocks the entire vicinity of the base, with Avatar Korra managing to take down the last of the aircrafts, sending the remainder of the enemy front scrambling back in retreat. Finally sensing the last bit of danger escaping, Korra slowly starts to lower herself, her eyes returning to their ocean blue color. As Korra touches down, a man with a white and red mask sends a knife straight into her belly, just under her plated vest._

_Korra cries out in pain, and falls to her knees, looking up at the menacing eyes behind the mask._

_A deep voice emanates as he says, "You will survive Avatar. And every time you look at your scars, you will remember me. We will meet again soon."_

_Korra falls forward, every last ounce of life draining away as the last thing she sees is the man walking away into a blaze of chaos, his face etched into the back of her mind, haunting her in what seems like death to her._

Korra jolts up in bed, her eyes wide open, sweat dripping down the crevice of her spine, heart fluttering as she lies back down.

"Damn it." She whispers, frustrated at the fact that its only two in the morning.

She knows she's not going to be able to go back to sleep and sees no point of lying in bed reminiscing her life.

Korra ultimately gets up from bed, stretching out her sore muscles and changing out of her clothes. As she pulls her shirt off, she ritually looks down at the nasty scar on her lower abdomen, rubbing her hand briefly over it before she put on her tank with a pair of sweats and quietly slips passed a sleeping Naga and into the cool night air.

Sitting near the edge of the cliff overlooking Republic city, Korra stares off into the distance, letting the sound of the crashing waves put her in a trance, giving her body a chance to relax without thinking about anything. Just for a moment, she forgets about her ever present pain. Forgets the long recovery she endured. She even manages to forget that her best friend is gone forever. However, she doesn't forget long as she pounces up in anger and unleashes all her frustration into her training as she kicks up earth into the ocean followed by a whirlwind of fire and air into the sky.

Not wanting to tire out just yet, Korra breaks out into a run, something she has done for as long as she can remember, every time trying to go faster and farther .

Once the sun started to peek over the horizon, Korra was drenched head to toe in sweat, her muscles on the brink of collapsing as she jogged it back over to her room, hoping for a chance to get a dreamless sleep from exhaustion, ready for her first day off in weeks.

Surprisingly though, at the front of the steps, Tenzin stood waiting for Korra, his face etched with worry.

"What's up Tenzin?" Korra asks, stopping short before him.

"I'm afraid I come with bad news." Tenzin answered.

Korra stays quiet, nodding her head for him to go on.

"I've received a call from Chief Beifong about an incident that occurred last night. Apparently a gentleman by the name of Tahno was murdered."

Korra's heart flutters in her chest at the sound of the familiar name.

"Korra, Chief Beifong has reason to believe his murder is linked to that of Asami Sato."


	3. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

As Korra approaches the crime scene, located at the bottom of a drainage tunnel, her emotions struggle to break free behind her years of practice mask of calm. Korra spent nearly a year trying to recover from that tragic day and even longer to accept that she may never solve her best friend's murder. She never dreamed she would get the opportunity to find justice for Asami. It's why she became a detective in the first place. No one was able to get any clues as to who the attackers were or what they wanted. Or even why they targeted the two in the first place. Korra thought that maybe she could do better but never got any farther than knowing that the group went by the Equalist's and hated benders.

"Avatar Korra, over here!" Chief Beifong yells, breaking Korra away from her thoughts.

Recomposing herself, Korra approaches to where Beifong is standing, revealing a body bag covering Tahno's corpse.

"What do we got Chief?" Korra asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

Chief Beifong not skipping a beat answers, "Victim is a twenty four year old male. No signs of apparent wounds anywhere on the body but there is a possibility he was abducted prior to his death?"

"How do you mean? I thought there were no visible wounds." Korra asks, confused.

Beifong sighs as she answers, "I know but," motioning for the medical examiner to open the bag, it reveals a blue, terror stricken face, "This expression tells us that he was strangulated while being motionless."

"Are you implying that he just let himself get strangles without a fight?" Korra questions, knowing that that is not in Tahno's character.

"Not necessarily." Chief answers, letting a brief silence settle as the answer to Korra's question sinks in like ton of bricks falling on her chest.

"Chief, are you saying he was blood bent?" Korra finally asks, still trying to grasp control of the situation.

"I'm saying that is a possibility."

"Wait, if he was blood bent, how in the hell is this related to Asami's m-murder?" Korra asks, stuttering a little at the end, not wanting to believe that she could finally have a solid lead in years.

"Well, we found this stuffed in his mouth, more than likely from our killer."

Putting on a pair of gloves, Korra takes a crumpled sheet of paper from Chief Beifong and her knees nearly buckle from what she reads next.

-How are your scars, Avatar Korra?

"_You will survive Avatar. And every time you look at your scars, you will remember me. We will meet again soon."_

Anger and frustration quickly take over her fear as she brings up her walls, reinforcing them with the fact that she will avenge her friend's death, no matter what the cost.

"Send this to forensics and see if you can get anything from it. Have the rest of the uniforms canvass the area to see if they can find any more clues as to what happened here." Korra hands the note in a baggy to a uniform and turns to the medical examiner, "Inform me immediately once you get him on the slab. This is now a priority case." As both nod in response, Korra turns to chief Beifong who stands with her arms crossed over chest, watching her.

"Something wrong Chief?" Korra asks.

Chief closes her eyes for a second, sighs, and opens them as she says, "Korra, are you sure you're okay to handle this?"

Korra pauses for a long time before she answers, "No. But I've waited too long for an opportunity like this to just curl up and cry about this. Believe me; I've already done enough of that. It's time for me to bring an end to whoever did this and finally bring some peace to Asami."

Chief Beifong nods in understanding, "I appreciate your honesty and I guess as long as you're up for it, then I really can't keep you off this case."

"Thank you," Korra says and then asks, "So where's Iroh? Shouldn't he be here by now?"

Beifong hesitates to respond at first.

"Chief, what's going on?"

"Due to the complexity this case has turned out to be, and issues with the origin of jurisdiction, a task force has been brought in to help lead this investigation."

"What? How does that have anything to do with Iroh?"

"Detective Iroh has been re-assigned to the gang unit as well as a new partner."

"Are you serious? You can't do that!"

"Actually I can, _Detective_." Beifong says, snapping at Korra, "Besides, like I've said, with the issues of jurisdiction and whose case this is, you will be leading the case with the Captain of the task force. He will be your new partner 'til further notice."

"But Chief-"

"NO buts' Detective. We need all the help we can get and I don't want to have to pull you off the case as well, understand?"

"Understood." Korra reluctantly answers.

"Good, now let's get back to the station to give the brief on what's going on and hopefully get a lead as to who is responsible."

As Korra and Beifong get into the awaiting squad car, Korra asks, "So anything I need to know about my new partner?"

"Well, other than the fact that his name is Mako, and that he has one of the highest closure rates out of his precinct, there's not much to tell."

"Captain Mako huh? Well, I doubt he's beaten my numbers but we'll see about that."

Before Beifong could respond, Korra's phone buzzes to reveal a message from the medical examiner's office giving word that the body had arrived.

"Chief, if it's alright with you, I think I'll catch up on the brief later. Victim's body just arrived."

"Alright, let me know as soon as you find hear anything. I'll be doing the same."

Fifteen minutes later, Korra makes her way down the hall of the M.E.'s office, not helping like feeling as if this wasn't real. Five years of bringing justice for every victim's family except for Asami's has haunted her for way too long. Her father had lost his wife and daughter to the world and has since put all of his time into his company; making the very tools she uses everyday to find the bad guys. It was time for Korra to stop feeling and start doing. She had had enough pity and sympathy to last her for the rest of her life. Now, it was time to bring the son of bitch who caused her so much pain down. It was her turn to bring on the pain.

"Hello Avatar Korra, you here about the murder victim we just brought in?" The receptionist asks as Korra approaches the desk.

Korra laughs as she says, "Hey Mai. You know you can just call me Detective since I am on duty. But yeah, I want to get an early jump on the case. Which room?"

"Sure, Avatar. It's in room 13 but it looks like someone's beaten you to it."

"What?"

"Yeah a guy came-"

Korra didn't bother listening to the rest as she booked it down the main hallway and up the stairs to the room. No one else from the precinct knew that the body was already in, which meant that someone was trying to bury their tracks and ruin her case.

As she rounded the corner to the desired room, she could see someone's head through the small window on the door. Taking no chances, Korra takes out her service pistol, holding it out in front of her as she kicks in the door to reveal a tall man not much older than she was jump in surprise, retrieving his weapon at the ready.

"What the hell are you doing here with the body?" Korra asks coolly, not taking her eyes off the man's weapon in case he tried to attack.

"Depends whose asking." The man says, not taking his eyes off of her.

"I ask the questions here." Korra says, her finger itching to pull the trigger already, "Who are you and what are you doing with my murder vic?"

"_Your _murder vic?" The man asks, his thick yet sleek eyebrows pulling together in confusion, "This is _my _murder vic. I'm Captain Mako and what makes a hot headed _girl _think she can barge in like this into a government facility? Who do you think you are?"

Realization dawned on Korra as the man identified himself but before she could respond, Mako took her slight lowering of her weapon as a chance to attack, giving Korra barely enough time to avoid the bullet heading toward her but no time to react to his fire blasts, slamming her into the metal cabinets where the bodies are kept.

With her ego a little sore from getting bested by the fire bender, anger kicks in as Korra decides to take action with her fists rather than with words and as she holsters he weapon, she sidekicks a torrent of fire along with a blast of air, knocking him into the other side of the room.

Seeing Mako's shocked face, Korra kicks him in the air and with a final blow, releases a cascade of water and then freezes it, pinning him in place.

As she approaches the now brooding firebender, Korra grins slyly as she says, "Got an idea of who I am now, Captain?"

Letting out a sigh of defeat, he says, "You're the Avatar, and I'm-"

"An idiot?"

"Your partner."


End file.
